New initiatives for Larchmont Race Week

Larchmont Yacht Club’s 117th Race Week got underway with competition planned for July 11-12 and July 18-19, with the first weekend for senior one-design and cruiser/racer competition having light to moderate winds on two racing circles.

This year’s Larchmont Race Week has taken a fresh approach, especially for the racer/cruisers. Starting later in the afternoon when winds are historically better, this year’s big boat racing combines traditional windward/leeward courses with a pursuit race planned for the first Sunday (but not run due to little wind) and a distance race (“The Around Execution Light Race”) scheduled for the final Sunday.

On the cruising circle, 20 boats competed in the PHRF spinnaker division, non-spinnaker, and classic divisions. Cruising PRO Jed Kelly reported that Paul Strauch was leading in the spinnaker division on his new C&C One-design 30 ANDIAMO while Robert Taylor’s J/34 MINX and Ted and Shelia Graves Alden Q boat currently lead in the non-spinnaker and classic divisions, respectively.

Seven J/105s joined the one-design circle with 17 Viper 640s, 11 J70s, 14 Shields, 4 Etchells, and quintet of S Boats and a trio of IODs. Leading after three races in the Viper fleet after Peter Beardsley and David Owen on GHOST PANDA with Danny Pletsch and Cardwell Potts’ BLACKOUT PROPOSAL in second. For the J/105s it’s George and Alex Wilbanks’ REVELATION atop the leader board, Alex Curtiss and a crew of LYC junior sailing instructors winning the Shields, Dave Smalley’s TITHONUS is ahead for the Etchells, Jennifer Miller’s TOPAZ leads the IODs and Bill Simmons ALLEGRO is leading the S Boats.

Results: http://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=1451

Larchmont Race Week resumes next Saturday and Sunday, July 18-19.

Larchmont Junior Race Week, with over a thousand junior sailors from around the east coast participating, will be sailed Monday – Wednesday, July 13-15 with Opti Day and the influx of 140+ Optimist prams scheduled for Thursday, July 16. Friday is a no-race day, with Larchmont Yacht Club hosting the Storm Trysail Foundation’s Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminar Friday, July 17 with over 300 juniors learning and practicing safety-at-sea techniques on shore and on the water.

Report by Edward Padin.